Gillette holiday ads on TV for 2022 still show the KC Gillette DE Razor in their mix of products. They are not pushing it, but at least it is still offered (both the DE razor and blades are available on the Gillette website). Traditional wet shaving is still being discovered everyday by newbies in the US and Canada. I am not sure the overall US/Canada market numbers will change, since the newbies are just replacing the older generation who are dying off. IMHO, there will always be large numbers of wet shavers in the rest of the world.
Is the Safety Razor Fad Over?
- Thread starter czbeme
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If there was only a place with a large sample pool of data where we could see how new users compare to...
I sure hope the fad is over. I don't like fads at all. I'm 56, so I can very easily stockpile enough stuff to last me for the rest of my life (assuming 30 years still to live, give or take a few). I wonder if tallow-based soaps go rancid over time...
FWIW, I directly blame the "safety razor fad" for the disappearance of tallow from mass-market brands like Tabac and Muehle. The Greens who jumped onto the fad become aware of things that they normally would never have known, and all the sudden they pressure corporations to try to get them banned.
FWIW, I directly blame the "safety razor fad" for the disappearance of tallow from mass-market brands like Tabac and Muehle. The Greens who jumped onto the fad become aware of things that they normally would never have known, and all the sudden they pressure corporations to try to get them banned.
If the Fad is over, someone forgot to tell me! I keep buying razors! Ugh!
I sadly agree. Using tallow, lanolin, boar brushes, etc. is exactly what the sustainability movement should embrace. It is amazing how every part of the animal would be used back in the days. Fat extracted from wool! Amazing. Boar bristles will last 30+ years and have zero impact on the environment after disposing them. Amazing. Yet, we still see synthetic as something environmentally friendly. Using plant-based substitutes (coconut oil, hemp oil, shea butter....) is basically using food in cosmetic products. I am not saying using plant-based soap is better/worse (especially for people who have allergies), but we should stop treating animal based products as necessarily bad. In most cases (excluding badgers and similar products of known animal cruelty), we are using the traditional way of making use of all what nature gives us. Lanolin would be wasted and soaring boar populations are making them dangerous to food production and are now mostly considered pests.
So let us embrace brilliant products that still use old formulas and hope they stay in production.
I have been making soaps for many years now (needless to say, I have a stock pile full). I don't use tallow, I use lard. I find lard to produce a creamier soap. I have soaps that I made many years ago and are still good. Since I make many unscented soaps I would have noticed a smell if they turn bad. So far I have not noticed any. I'm sure they won't keep forever but they should last long enough.
Is the safety razor fad over?
The answer is a solid 'no', but perhaps not for the reasons that you would imagine.
Not counting my mid-1970's attempts to shave with a Gillette super adjustable, some really sharp Schick Super Stainless and a can of Noxema shave cream. My journey of wet shaving begins in 2009. I needed to save money (don't laugh) after the 2008 recession, so recalled my pretty good shaves from earlier decades.
Top notch blades were easily $25.00, particularly the newly arrived Russian PPI blades. There were a handful of artisans and a couple of reiiable vendors. Over the next few years, the hobby exploded (every thing being relative) and could support a growing number of artisans, YouTube wet shavers (excluding Mantic, who may have been the original wet tuber) and new vendors. Italian Barber, Maggard grew to addd to the list of shaving suppliers.
Over the past year or two, I've noticed prices of good quality Russian PPI blades plumeting. Gillette Silver-Blues for sale at $12 (I remember paying more than twice that and being glad of it.), Gillette Perma-Sharps for $10 on Amazon etc. etc.
Perhaps supply is outstripping demand, or perhaps a number of wet shavers now have a lifetime of blades, I couldn't say.
My best guess is that the wet shaving phenomenon is an internet phenomenon. Like minded people can come together, share information and provide a ready market for antique dealers, soap artisans and importers. In the 1970's my shaving choices were largely limited to what was available at local drugstores. This morning, I shaved with an English shave soap, a German razor loaded with a Russian blade. My post shave care came from Arkansas.
Our hobby is a niche hobby, but it's a pretty cool, and fun niche.
The answer is a solid 'no', but perhaps not for the reasons that you would imagine.
Not counting my mid-1970's attempts to shave with a Gillette super adjustable, some really sharp Schick Super Stainless and a can of Noxema shave cream. My journey of wet shaving begins in 2009. I needed to save money (don't laugh) after the 2008 recession, so recalled my pretty good shaves from earlier decades.
Top notch blades were easily $25.00, particularly the newly arrived Russian PPI blades. There were a handful of artisans and a couple of reiiable vendors. Over the next few years, the hobby exploded (every thing being relative) and could support a growing number of artisans, YouTube wet shavers (excluding Mantic, who may have been the original wet tuber) and new vendors. Italian Barber, Maggard grew to addd to the list of shaving suppliers.
Over the past year or two, I've noticed prices of good quality Russian PPI blades plumeting. Gillette Silver-Blues for sale at $12 (I remember paying more than twice that and being glad of it.), Gillette Perma-Sharps for $10 on Amazon etc. etc.
Perhaps supply is outstripping demand, or perhaps a number of wet shavers now have a lifetime of blades, I couldn't say.
My best guess is that the wet shaving phenomenon is an internet phenomenon. Like minded people can come together, share information and provide a ready market for antique dealers, soap artisans and importers. In the 1970's my shaving choices were largely limited to what was available at local drugstores. This morning, I shaved with an English shave soap, a German razor loaded with a Russian blade. My post shave care came from Arkansas.
Our hobby is a niche hobby, but it's a pretty cool, and fun niche.
DE shaving is a tradition more than a century old. A fad is a novelty that gains quick acceptance and then extinguishes (e.g. pet rocks), possibly to return later (e.g. hula hoops). What we've experienced is more of a revival, and one that is perhaps fading but the tradition will remain. From me as 'nanocosm' of the market, and part of its growth since I switched to DE shaving only 2 years ago, suppliers of blades and brushes are now seeing a crushing reduction in demand, my lifetime supplies having already been bought. On the other hand, one of our fine machine shops has a new order for a razor and extra plate. I have another after shave lotion coming as well. I may no longer shave daily, but I have no desire to return to cartridge razors. I think that the DE shaving tradition will endure.
I wonder if there is a correlation between the current interest in DE, SE and SR shaving, and the number of active participants on this forum.
I've only been here since March 1st... is B&B gaining in participation or declining in.... say, over the past 4 years?
I'm not sure it ever was a fad. I think it's niche and has been for as long as I've been paying attention. But niche is a good thing. Niche products/hobbies/ activities tend to stay as cottage industries, as we can see in our software and newer DE razors. A smaller market share (hopefully) means the producers will tailor our products more to those niche users rather than mass marketing a one size fits enough approach. That we can see by our wonderful vendors active in our little corner of the world.
I don’t think de’s are a fad but I think they’re definitely overrated.
I’ve spent a good sum of Money trying almost every kind out there and get a better shave from a 1/3 of a US dollar twin blade disposable. It’s fast, precise, slim and I don’t need to look for angles. I get 5 shaves from one of these.
It also doesn’t weight a ton, which is what I find most ridiculous about modern de razors. I’m not looking for a workout, I just want to shave. I have nothing I’m trying to compensate for maybe that’s the problem.
DE razors make for great entertainment for me now. I am happy with my cheap twin disposables. It cost me some money but I found something that works and don’t have to keep looking for something better (which I’m sure exists). When I see someone talk about how they’re on a waiting list for a $500 razor and they’re going to have the best bla bla bla I just chuckle.
I’ve spent a good sum of Money trying almost every kind out there and get a better shave from a 1/3 of a US dollar twin blade disposable. It’s fast, precise, slim and I don’t need to look for angles. I get 5 shaves from one of these.
It also doesn’t weight a ton, which is what I find most ridiculous about modern de razors. I’m not looking for a workout, I just want to shave. I have nothing I’m trying to compensate for maybe that’s the problem.
DE razors make for great entertainment for me now. I am happy with my cheap twin disposables. It cost me some money but I found something that works and don’t have to keep looking for something better (which I’m sure exists). When I see someone talk about how they’re on a waiting list for a $500 razor and they’re going to have the best bla bla bla I just chuckle.
No one spends $100 + on a razor thinking that it's going to shave 10 times better than a less expensive razor just like no one buys a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, because they are very fast.
You obviously missed my point entirely. The cheap twin disposable shaves WAY BETTER than any DE razor I’ve ever tried. If the DE shaved equally or marginally better than the cheapie I’d probably use it but this is not the case.
Considering I haven't seen more than 200 regstered members on here here at any given time on this, the largest shaving forum in the USA if not the entire internet, I would not use B&B as an example of the growth or decline of traditional wet shaving. About 10-11 years ago, when I used to simply read this forum and wasn't a member, it had considerably more traffic, discussions, info, etc.
I have no doubt that this is indeed your best way to shave, but that doesn't mean it would be the best for everyone else. Things are very subjective when it comes to personal preference and while I do agree that no one really needs a super expensive razor to shave with, I also don't agree with the notion that just because someone can get a good shave with razor X, then everyone else should also be able to achieve the same results from that razor.
It's great that the twin blade disposables work so well for you. As has been said that doesn't mean they work as well for everyone else. For myself, I find that some disposables do work quite well, but I avoid them because it feels wasteful to me to throw away the entire razor after using it a few times.
I've been using pure pure lye bath soap for years which has done wonders for my skin, I can tell from the faint scent that the fat used was lard. In addition to that I cook with lard, Lard forever!
Inflation may provide a bit of a bump as cartridge prices continue to rise. Using straight razors, I don't even have to buy blades; just an occasional 12 pack of ARKO.
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